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First marine wilderness in continental U.S. is designated

The U.S. Interior secretary refuses to extend a permit for a
commercial oyster farm operating in Point Reyes National Seashore. Sen.
Dianne Feinstein had championed the business.

Drakes Bay Oyster Co. worker
Jorge Mata carries strings of the shellfish at the farm, which operates
in the Point Reyes National Seashore.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The federal government
cleared the way Thursday for waters off the Northern California coast to
become the first marine wilderness in the continental United States,
ending a contentious political battle that pitted a powerful U.S.
senator against the National Park Service.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
settled the dispute by refusing to extend a permit for a commercial
oyster farm operating in Point Reyes National Seashore. Congress
designated the area as potential wilderness in 1976 but put that on hold
until the farm's 40-year federal permit ended.

As the expiration date approached, the farm became the center of a
costly and acrimonious fight that dragged on more than four years,
spawned federal investigations and cost taxpayers millions of dollars to
underwrite scores of scientific reviews.

"I believe it is the right
decision for Point Reyes National Seashore and for future generations
who will enjoy this treasured landscape," Salazar said Thursday. The
area includes Drakes Estero, an environmentally rich tidal region where
explorer Sir Francis Drake is believed to have made landfall more than
400 years ago.
Salazar's decision drew a sharp response from Sen. Dianne Feinstein,
who had championed the Drakes Bay Oyster Co. in its fight with the
government. Feinstein said in a statement that she was "extremely
disappointed" with Salazar's decision.

She had argued that the National Park Service contorted scientific
studies to make the case that oyster harvesting operations caused
environmental harm to Drakes Estero, a dramatic coastal sweep of five
bays in Marin County north of San Francisco.

"The National Park Service's review process has been flawed from the
beginning with false and misleading science," her statement said. "The
secretary's decision effectively puts this historic California oyster
farm out of business. As a result, the farm will be forced to cease
operations and 30 Californians will lose their jobs."
Feinstein had attached a rider to an appropriations bill giving
Salazar the unusual prerogative to extend the farm's permit. The company
was seeking a 10-year extension of its lease.

Salazar said he gave the matter serious consideration, including
taking into account legal advice and park policies. He directed the park
service to develop a jobs-training plan for the oyster company's
employees and to work with the local community to assist them in finding
employment.

The company will have 90 days to remove its racks and other property
from park land and waters. When that occurs, the 2,500-acre Drakes
Estero will be managed as wilderness, with prohibitions on motorized
access to the waterway but allowances for snorkeling, kayaking and other
recreation.

The new wilderness will become only the second marine protected area
in the national park system and the first in the Lower 48 states. The
only current marine wilderness is 46,000 acres in Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

Environmental groups applauded the decision, which they lobbied for.

"We are ecstatic that this ecological treasure will be forever
protected as marine wilderness," said Amy Trainer, executive director of
the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin.

The heart of the debate is an agreement that Kevin Lunny and his
family inherited when they took over a failing oyster operation in the
park in 2004. That lease with the park service stipulated that the
business would cease operations in 2012.

Kevin Lunny has from the beginning sought to stay on the property and
continue harvesting oysters. His farm has an extensive record of
violating state and federal agreements and permits. The California
Coastal Commission has fined the farm for various violations, issued two
cease and desist orders and repeatedly requested that the Lunnys
acquire a coastal development permit.

The state agency initiated another enforcement action against the farm earlier this month.
Lunny could not be reached for comment.

The farm's mariculture operation has found support among west Marin
County's advocates for sustainable agriculture, who agreed with Lunny
that federal and state agencies were unfairly hounding his operation.
His travails have caused alarm among the historic cattle and dairy
ranches that operate within the national seashore in a designated
pastoral zone. Park officials have repeatedly said they have no
intention of curtailing ranching operations, and Salazar echoed that,
adding that he wished to extend the terms of the ranch leases from 10 to
20 years.
The Lunny family also has a cattle operation in the park.

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